1
as in curious
interested in what is not one's own business
as we moved into our new home, we could sense that there were prying eyes watching us
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in busy
thrusting oneself where one is not welcome or invited
prying neighbors who refuse to mind their own business
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in questioning
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
1
as in pulling
to raise, move, or pull apart with or as if with a lever
it took some effort to pry up the trap door
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in yanking
to draw out by force or with effort
a vain attempt to pry the cork out of a wine bottle
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in interfering
to interest oneself in what is not one's concern
don't go prying into other people's business
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of prying
Nicholas Ivor Martin and Jacobina Martin, oregonlive, 4 Feb. 2023
But inquiring into the specifics of familial dynamics is impudent and prying — and a line of questioning that most people would be happy to avoid answering themselves.
—Jacobina Martin, Washington Post, 4 Feb. 2023
The Google Nest Hub (7/10, WIRED Recommends) is a great smart display with no camera (and therefore no risk of unwanted prying eyes).
—Brenda Stolyar and Medea Giordano, WIRED, 28 Nov. 2022
To my mind, however, there’s a difference between a Google or a Facebook, which provide valuable services in return for their prying eyes, and an app that serves a single, ostensibly benign purpose — parking validation.
—Los Angeles Times, 12 Nov. 2021
Carry two phones While anti-spy software may be effective in staving off the prying eyes of the Chinese government, not everyone knows how to install it.
—Jane Li, Quartz, 6 Aug. 2019
Its purpose: to train librarians to implement secure protocols on their own web services, and to teach members of the community to evade the prying eyes of governments, corporations, and criminal hackers.
—Eoin O'Carroll, The Christian Science Monitor, 18 Oct. 2017
One reason Russians have loaded up on passports is that Cypriot citizenship helps them avoid the prying eyes of their government and pay lower taxes.
—Yalman Onaran, Bloomberg.com, 11 May 2017
Jason Sheeler, Condé Nast Traveler, 20 Feb. 2026
But in the quietest corner of the 10-acre sanctuary, away from the public’s prying eyes, a cohort of most unusual occupants sleep.
—Shi En Kim, AZCentral.com, 20 Feb. 2026
Videos of the shooting have spread online and appear to show Good, 37, being told to get out of her car, with one agent walking and prying at the door handle.
—Melissa Gomez, Los Angeles Times, 8 Jan. 2026
That was what led the princess to send her staff away and sneak the BBC crew in for the interview, isolating herself in the face of Bashir’s prying questions.
—Theresa Braine, Mercury News, 26 Nov. 2025
The New Jersey native also teased some new music on the way after some prying from Hudson.
—Michael Saponara, Billboard, 28 Oct. 2025
The prying end also serves as a nail puller, box cutter and bottle opener.
—Ben Coxworth
october 07, New Atlas, 7 Oct. 2025
The film stages its riot of activity as hard-nosed honesty, but its portrait is ultimately as ginned-up and inexact as the fictional news broadcast’s lurid prying.
—Richard Lawson, IndieWire, 5 Sep. 2025
Other prying eyes won’t have access to the documents, either.
—Zoe Guy, Vulture, 4 Sep. 2025
Stefania Conrieri, Vanity Fair, 6 Mar. 2026
After being hounded by paparazzi for their entire courtship, the duo managed to pull off a secret wedding, away from prying eyes, on a secluded island in Georgia.
—Claudia Williams, Architectural Digest, 5 Mar. 2026
The floor-to-ceiling glass doors that line the west-facing wall to make the most of a stunning hillside view are easily blocked from light and prying eyes by curtains at the push of a button.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 4 Mar. 2026
Of course, the Flyers got a nice return for Laughton last season, prying a 2027 first-round pick and forward Nikita Grebenkin out of Toronto.
—Kevin Kurz, New York Times, 2 Mar. 2026
Now that the 2026 Winter Olympics are over, many people are prying into the personal lives of Olympic gold medalists.
—Lea Veloso, StyleCaster, 26 Feb. 2026
Stick-on privacy filters take a must-have smartphone feature – protecting personal information from prying eyes – and pack it into a frustratingly uncompromising package.
—Mike Feibus, USA Today, 25 Feb. 2026
Glenn stepped in to hug her and shield her from prying cameras that had zoomed in on the distraught Sakamoto.
—Alice Park, Time, 22 Feb. 2026
Most recently, this meant prying off press-on nails that were very firmly glued on.
—Tamim Alnuweiri, InStyle, 21 Feb. 2026
Adjective
But inquiring into the specifics of familial dynamics is impudent and prying -- and a line of questioning that most people would be happy to avoid answering themselves.
—Nicholas Ivor Martin and Jacobina Martin, oregonlive, 4 Feb. 2023
But inquiring into the specifics of familial dynamics is impudent and prying — and a line of questioning that most people would be happy to avoid answering themselves.
—Jacobina Martin, Washington Post, 4 Feb. 2023
The Google Nest Hub (7/10, WIRED Recommends) is a great smart display with no camera (and therefore no risk of unwanted prying eyes).
—Brenda Stolyar and Medea Giordano, WIRED, 28 Nov. 2022
To my mind, however, there’s a difference between a Google or a Facebook, which provide valuable services in return for their prying eyes, and an app that serves a single, ostensibly benign purpose — parking validation.
—Los Angeles Times, 12 Nov. 2021
Carry two phones While anti-spy software may be effective in staving off the prying eyes of the Chinese government, not everyone knows how to install it.
—Jane Li, Quartz, 6 Aug. 2019
Its purpose: to train librarians to implement secure protocols on their own web services, and to teach members of the community to evade the prying eyes of governments, corporations, and criminal hackers.
—Eoin O'Carroll, The Christian Science Monitor, 18 Oct. 2017
One reason Russians have loaded up on passports is that Cypriot citizenship helps them avoid the prying eyes of their government and pay lower taxes.
—Yalman Onaran, Bloomberg.com, 11 May 2017
Noun
Palm Springs Has Still Got It This desert enclave has long been many things at once—a spa town, a sanctuary away from Hollywood's prying eyes, a design capital, a shoo-in for winter sun.
—Jason Sheeler, Condé Nast Traveler, 20 Feb. 2026
But in the quietest corner of the 10-acre sanctuary, away from the public’s prying eyes, a cohort of most unusual occupants sleep.
—Shi En Kim, AZCentral.com, 20 Feb. 2026
Videos of the shooting have spread online and appear to show Good, 37, being told to get out of her car, with one agent walking and prying at the door handle.
—Melissa Gomez, Los Angeles Times, 8 Jan. 2026
That was what led the princess to send her staff away and sneak the BBC crew in for the interview, isolating herself in the face of Bashir’s prying questions.
—Theresa Braine, Mercury News, 26 Nov. 2025
The New Jersey native also teased some new music on the way after some prying from Hudson.
—Michael Saponara, Billboard, 28 Oct. 2025
The prying end also serves as a nail puller, box cutter and bottle opener.
—Ben Coxworth
october 07, New Atlas, 7 Oct. 2025
The film stages its riot of activity as hard-nosed honesty, but its portrait is ultimately as ginned-up and inexact as the fictional news broadcast’s lurid prying.
—Richard Lawson, IndieWire, 5 Sep. 2025
Other prying eyes won’t have access to the documents, either.
—Zoe Guy, Vulture, 4 Sep. 2025
Verb
The ceremony was held at the tiny First African Baptist Church in Cumberland Island, Georgia, away from prying eyes and paparazzi.
—Stefania Conrieri, Vanity Fair, 6 Mar. 2026
After being hounded by paparazzi for their entire courtship, the duo managed to pull off a secret wedding, away from prying eyes, on a secluded island in Georgia.
—Claudia Williams, Architectural Digest, 5 Mar. 2026
The floor-to-ceiling glass doors that line the west-facing wall to make the most of a stunning hillside view are easily blocked from light and prying eyes by curtains at the push of a button.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 4 Mar. 2026
Of course, the Flyers got a nice return for Laughton last season, prying a 2027 first-round pick and forward Nikita Grebenkin out of Toronto.
—Kevin Kurz, New York Times, 2 Mar. 2026
Now that the 2026 Winter Olympics are over, many people are prying into the personal lives of Olympic gold medalists.
—Lea Veloso, StyleCaster, 26 Feb. 2026
Stick-on privacy filters take a must-have smartphone feature – protecting personal information from prying eyes – and pack it into a frustratingly uncompromising package.
—Mike Feibus, USA Today, 25 Feb. 2026
Glenn stepped in to hug her and shield her from prying cameras that had zoomed in on the distraught Sakamoto.
—Alice Park, Time, 22 Feb. 2026
Most recently, this meant prying off press-on nails that were very firmly glued on.
—Tamim Alnuweiri, InStyle, 21 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prying
Adjective
-
For readers who are ambivalent, prospective, prickly, curious, on the fence, or just plain interested in what’s possible.—
Brittany Allen,
Literary Hub,
16 Mar. 2026
-
As someone who’s curious about lightweight backpacking but unwilling to leave behind my 350-page novel, cutting my pack’s base weight could be my window into the ultralight world.—
Amelia Arvesen,
Outside,
16 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Jet fuel prices are rising as the war in the Middle East disrupts global oil supplies, putting cost pressure on airlines as the busy summer travel season approaches.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
15 Mar. 2026
-
Ask the staff for a quieter room that ideally doesn’t face the main road; typical of the city, Admiralty Way is constantly busy, and in the rainy season heavy thunderstorms can be enough to wake one out of sleep—light sleepers will do well to pick a room that’s more internal.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
15 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The same attorney who had once urged the faster consideration of the dog beach project eventually bristled at the Zoning Board of Appeals as its lengthy questioning wore on.—
Shun Graves,
Chicago Tribune,
16 Mar. 2026
-
Police said five suspects were detained for questioning, and 17-year-old Maverik Parish was arrested and faces a murder charge, according to jail records.—
Shambhavi Rimal,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
15 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Scrub jays are very smart and inquisitive, and the jay’s interest in your house might just be curiosity over the new structure.—
Joan Morris,
Mercury News,
16 Mar. 2026
-
Written and illustrated by Lisa Horstman On a camping trip with her parents in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, an inquisitive girl slips out of her tent to explore after dark and stumbles upon the lively scene of a salamander ball.—
Libby Monteith Minor,
Southern Living,
15 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Andrew was released after 11 hours of interrogation and is still being investigated, with his homes and offices raided by the police.—
Lizzie Lanuza,
StyleCaster,
9 Mar. 2026
-
Back in the interrogation room, detectives confronted Nick with their discoveries.—
Erin Moriarty,
CBS News,
8 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Because of the location on the property, the project would be especially intrusive for the Sanford Ridge community, Hayes and other opponents said last fall.—
Don Stacom,
Hartford Courant,
10 Mar. 2026
-
Every poor, slow or pernickety decision undermines the good, depicting VAR as needlessly intrusive and a hindrance to the spectacle.—
Philip Buckingham,
New York Times,
5 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
That element of the investigation was the focus of a recent TV report, which tied the inquiry to whether the couple used their authority for financial and professional gain.—
Kacen Bayless,
Kansas City Star,
13 Mar. 2026
-
The lack of any basis to pursue voter fraud investigations into the 2020 election in Nevada raises further questions about why similar inquiries are being pursued in other swing states, including Georgia and Arizona, and why there is probable cause to suggest fraud occurred in those other states.—
Sarah N. Lynch,
CBS News,
12 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The couple couldn’t risk sending their event programs to be printed at a copier shop in case a nosy shop worker snuck a photo of the nuptial details to a reporter.—
Kate Storey,
Rolling Stone,
5 Mar. 2026
-
Other states have increasingly weighed how to shield their residents from the consequences of invisible but ever-growing mountains of information amassed by smartphone apps, traffic cameras and nosy household appliances.—
Seth Klamann,
Denver Post,
2 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Prying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prying. Accessed 19 Mar. 2026.
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